Volume 98 is here and with it the raid on Onigashima is in full effect. The forces gather on both sides and after the Ayakaza Nine start their surprise attack on Kaido things truly kick off. Before we get to that point we have three major events that happen so let’s take a step back first.
First, the samurai cut down Kanjuro with relative ease. It pains them to do so, but it has to be done. The traitorous samurai of the Kurozumi clan betrayed all of their faith and sold out Momonosuke to Kaido. He is not a big player in this arc though and loses immediately. Speaking of big players, after Big Mom enters the hall, Kaido does three things. He asks Momo to introduce himself properly, he tells everyone his plan of turning Wano into a pirate island and their base of operations to take the One Piece and finally he beheads Orochi, forcing his troops to submit to the beast pirates.
With the big alliance settled, the fighting starts. The Ayakaza Nine get their surprise attack on Kaido and he flies out to the roof for a proper battle with them. This fits them well as the minks can now use their Sulong form freely. Speaking of which, Jack the Drought is there to support Kaido, but he gets taken out by Sulong Nekomamushi and Inuarashi with relative ease. That’s one of the lead performers down, there are only two left now in the form of King and Queen. Speaking of which, the four were named after cards but did you know that many of the headliners and important players working for Kaido are named after card games? Ulti, Page One, Sasaki, Who’s Who, Babanuki and Holdem are great examples of this. Oda explains that most of the notable exceptions are people like Drake and Apoo, since they entered his ranks only recently as alliance members. The samurai clash with Kaido some more and even deal some real damage to him, although none of the damage ends up being substantial. The fact that they were able to damage Kaido at all does come as a shock to most of the onlookers of the fight but it’s not enough. Kaido releases a powerful attack and promptly removes Kiku’s arm from her body. She is still standing though but I vividly remember reading this scene and being very worried for the samurai. We end their part of the story here, with the fight still in full force.
Elsewhere, Marco the Phoenix is still holding Charlotte Perospero away from the rest of the fighting with Wanda and Carrot about to come over to help him and avenge Pedro.
Then let’s get to the big brawl inside of Onigashima. There is so much going on here all at once that I can guarantee I’ll miss half of it, but I’ll try my best to give a good summary. Let’s start with Momo, who is still tied up at the top of the banquet hall. Shinobu is stealthily trying to free him, but she gets spotted by King and tossed across the room. Despite this, Momo still seems to be freed by someone and this is where Sanji in his newly acquired raid suit appears. He’s not invisible, but the suit makes him hard to spot at the very least. The Beast Pirates then call on the numbers, a gift from Punk Hazard of ancient giants that look like their mental faculties didn’t grow along with their bodies. They are quickly taken care of though as the Straw Hats are not to be messed with. This is where the gang starts splitting up. Franky and Chopper stay in the main hall for now with Zoro while Luffy, Jinbe, Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Brook and Robin all head off into separate directions. Jinbe and Sanji stay with Luffy for now, while Usopp and Nami run away together.
Finally, we have Yamato. We don’t know a ton about him yet, but he’s so far proven to be a strong ally as he defends Momo and Shinobu from the onslaught of attacks. He proclaims that he was there the day that Kozuki Oden was boiled to death and that he does not care about his father at all. He also reveals the name Yamato to Momo here and gets ready to defend the young Kozuki.
And finally, we have Queen, one of the lead performers, using his poisonous rounds to start turning people – friends and foes – into ice oni. These ice oni inflict the same disease on the people around them, turning them into icy monsters that will die within an hour and start attacking the people around them. Chopper does not believe he can develop an antidote quickly enough, but if one already exists then he can copy that and help the people here. He reckons that Queen has one and he’s right. But because Queen is a sadistic asshole, he hands the antidote over to Apoo and tells him to escape his enemies for an hour or die. So the chase for the least likeable member of the worst generation – even counting Blackbeard – is on. Find out next week what happens in volume 99 and how the fight progresses. There are still many major enemies standing, with Jack really being the only big name that’s been taken out completely. What a loser, that’s what you get for attacking the minks. Thanks for reading.
Opal Kaharis 